BX 

1767 

.Ks. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



/ 



m^Mm^^s^m' 









.i^ 



^^^^. 











V^^L^^"- 



'^ntf. 



Thoughts 



OF A 



Roman Catholic 



WHILE READING THE 



DouAY \ c^?ho"lic \ Testament. 

. ^U U{ ^^cUc^n^ o 



ERIE, PA.: 
Economy Printing Company, 320 State Street, Printers. 

1880. 

7h 




■p^^i. 



LC Control Number 




tmp96 028025 



Trf HE Scripture quotations in this pamphlet were taken from the 
^^^ Douay (Roman Catholic) Testament, which has the following- 
recommendation from Bishop Troy, also an extract from His Holi- 
ness Pope Pius YII: 

I Certify that the sacred text of the New Testament, in this Edi- 
tion of it,* is conformable to that of former approved Editions ; and 
particularly to that of the Douay English Version sanctioned by 
me, and published by R. Cross, in the year 1791. 

Dublin, 9th Feb., 1820, f J. T. TROY, D. D., &c. 



Translation. 

AN EXTRACT OF A RESCRIPT, ADDRESSED BY HIS HOLINESS 

PIUS VII. 

TO 

VICARS APOSTOLIC OF GREAT BRITAIN. 

"VICARS Apostolic labouring in the Vineyard of our Lord, 
"Direct all your zeal and attention to this, that all the faithful 
'whom we have committed to your pastoral care, love one another 
'in Charity, Sincerity, and Truth: that in the present general ag- 
"itation, tliey shew themselves an example of good Avorks: that 
"they obey the King, and be so dutiful and faithful to him, that 
"our adversaries may fear, (not having it in their power) to speak 
"ill of us; that they abstain from reading vicious books, by which 
"in these most calamitous times, our holy religion is in all direc- 
"tions assailed: that bv reading pious books, and above all the 
'\HOLY SCRIPTURES, m the Editions approved by the Church, they 
"conform in faith and good works to you, as their pattern in pre- 
"cept and practice. While we trust from your lidelity and proved 
"veneration for us, that this duty shall be duly performed, we im- 
"part to you the Apostolic benediction. 

"Given at Rome at the College of Holy Marv the Greater, on the 
•'18th of April. Year of Grace, 1820, of our pontificate, 21." 



^t. jV^attl^Ew's €fnspEl. 



St. Matt.6thch.-7. And when But the chiirch tells me 

vou are praving speak not , .i i t. 

much, as the heathens. For tO say the lODg litany tO 

they think that in their much fhp Viro-in Wonlrl not n 

speaking they may he heard. ^f ^ ^ l^§l"- ^ ^^^^^^ I^Ot a 

short, heartfelt prayer to 
God be better, and be in accordance with this 
scripture ? 

St. Matt. 8th ch~u. And ^^hen What! Peter have a 

Jesus was come into Peter s ^ v, c* 

house, he saw his wife's moth- Wlie I VV hy, Peter waS 
er lying, and sick of a feyer ; ^i fi^^^. p^vi-vi^ TVion wIttt 

15. And he touched her '^ue nist ropc. inen wuy 

hand, and the feyer left her, don't the PoDCS have their 
and she arose, and ministered . i i, t-»- i 

to them. Wives, also the Bishops, 

aad Priests ? Surely, if it was not a sin for St. 
Peter to have a wife, it would not be for his suc- 
cessor the Pope. 

St. Matt, nth ch.-2S. Come to 
me. all you that labor, and 
are burdened, and I will re- 
fresh you. 

29. fake up my yoke upon 
you, and learn of me, because 
I am meek, and humble of 
heart : and you shall find rest 
to your soul's. 

30. For my yoke is sweet and 
my burden light. 



"Come to me." This 
is Jesus who is speaking. 
He tells us to come to 
him, not to his mother or 
any of the saints, but di- 
rect to him. 

And that word '^alV 
means Protestants as well as Catholics. So he 
wants "aZZ" to come to him. Then Protestants 
will be saved by coming to him, without joining 
the Catholic church. But the Priest tells me all 
out of the Eoman Catholic church will be lost. 



THOUaHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



Jesus sa3"s not. Now who shall I believe 
Jesus or the Priest ? 

But I must read on to the end. 



St. Matt, mh ch.-47. And one 
said unto him, Behold thy 
mother and thy brethren 
stand without, seeking thee. 

48. But he answering him 
that told him, said : Who is 
my mother, and who are 
my brethren ? 

49. And stretching forth his 
hand towards his disciples, he 
said : Behold my mother and 
my brethren. 

50. For whosoever shall do 
the will of my Father, that is 
in heaven ; he is my brother, 
and sister, and mother. 



The^e are the words of 
Jesus, not from a Protes- 
tant Testament, but from 
m}^ own Doua}^ Testa- 
ment. It certainty seems 
in this last verse, as 
though Jesus would rath- 
er have us do the will of 
his Father in heaven, than 
pay aii}^ attention to his 
mother or brother or sister. Then why does the 
church tell me to say the "Hail Mary" and other 
prayers to the Virgin ? , 



St. Matt. 15th ch-8. This people 
honoureth me with their lips : 
but their heart is far from me. 

9. And in vain do they ivor- 
ship me, teaching doctrines and 
commandments of men. 

10. And having called togeth- 
er the multitudes unto him, 
he said to them : Hear ye and 
understand. 

11. Not that which goeth in- 
to the mouth, defilethaman : 
but what Cometh out of the 
mouth, this defileth a man. 



Jesus says in this last 
verse that no matter what 
I eat, it cannot defile me. 
But how about eating- 
meat on Friday? The 
church forbids it, and 
calls it a sin, Jesus says 
not; I can eat what I 



please. Now who shall I 
obey ? Who am I to believe ? ''The doctrine and 
commandment of men," or the words of the Son of 
God ? 

Oh Lord open thou mine eyes and heart, for 
Jesus' sake. Amen. 



St. Matt. 16th ch.— 22. And Pe- 
ter taking him, began to re- 
buke him, saj'ing : Lord, be it 
far from thee, this shall not 
be unto thee. 



What ! Jesus calling 
Peter Satan ! Why, I 
thought Peter was infalli- 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 9 

23 Who turning said to Pe- l^le aS the PopeS are in- 
ter : Go behind me, satan, n ^^^^ i t ^i 

thou art a scandal unto me : lailible and cousequently 

because thou savourest not ponnnt f^rr "Rnt nprhqivs 

the things that are of God, cannoi en. isut peinapfe 
but the things that are of men. the Popes who Succeeded 
Pope Peter were better men than poor Peter, hence 
their infallibility. But the church is built on Pe- 
ter, as I read in my catechism and here Christ 
calls him Satan ! What, the church built on Sa- 
tan! 

But would it not have been better for the Fath- 
ers to have selected St. Paul, or St. John ? But 
Jesus Christ would be better than an}^ of them as 
the foundation. 

St. Matt 2 1st ch.-22. And all Well, if I kneel 

things whatsoever you shall , ' . i i 

ask in prayer believing, you dOWU now, right here 

shau receive. where I am sitting, and 

ask for the pardon of all my sins, without going to 
the Priest to confession, will he pardon my sins? 

I will read it again. "And all things" that in- 
cludes the pardon of my sins, of course it does, 
Priest or no Priest. Thank God for that. 

St. Matt. 26th ch. —bl. And he- This was one of Jesus 

hold one of them that were ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ eJesus 

with Jesus, stretching forth disciples, Peter himself, 

his hand, drew out his sword: „,i,^ ^4,i 4-u^^. «^ t «,. ^i ,'-^ 

and striking the servant of ^^^ ^^^ thlS: as 1 find lU 

thelii^^P^i^st, cutoffhisear. St. John 18:10, that 

o2. Then Jesus saith to him : -r» ^ i i i i 

Put up again thy sword into Peter had a sword and 

its place for all that take the a\a fhiQ \av\r thino' Tf 
sword shaU perish with the ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^y ,1: 

sAvord. would seem that the Popes 

have followed Peter in this respect; for had not 
they their armies and soldiers, who fought against 
Garibaldi and others? 

But the Pope has none to-daj^; he has lost his 
temporal power. Has not this prophec}^ been ful- 
filled in this respect? 



10 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



St. ]Vfai]5's €fcspel. 



Well, well, here in the 
very first chapter I find 
Peter's wife again. Would 
it not have been a good 
idea for the Popes and 
Priests to have imitated 

well as taking np the 

on. 

Here St. Mark refers 
to the same thing that St. 
Matthew did. 

I wonder if Jesus wants 
us to pray to his mother? 
If he did he would have 
set the example b}^ 
promptly obeying her. 
But I have not found so 
far in reading the Bible* 
that we are commanded 
to worship the Virgin or 
even pray to her. And if 
one man prayed to her in Ireland, another in Mex- 
ico, another in Italy, another in Spain, and anoth- 
er in America, all at the same time, (and this oc- 
curs every day in the week,) could she hear all 
their prayers? if so, she would be omnipresent! 
equal to God ! ! 



St. Mark 1st c/i.— 30. And Si- 
mon's wife's mother lay in a 
fit of a fever : and forthwith 
they tell him of her. 

31. And coming to her he 
lifted her up, taking her by 
the hand : and immediately 
the fever left her, and she 
ministered unto them. 

Peter in this respect, as 
sword? But I must read 

Mark 3 ch. — 31 And his moth- 
er and brethren came; and 
standing without sent unto 
him, calling him. 

32. And the multitude sat 
about him; and they say to 
him : Behold thy mother and 
thy brethren without seek for 
thee. 

33. And answering them, he 
saith Who is my mother and 
my brethren? 

34. And looking round about 
at them who sat about him, 
he saith, Behold my mother 
and my brethren. 

35. For whosoever shall do 
the will of God; he is my 
brother and my sister and 
mother. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 11 

St. Mark, 7th ch.-% Well did Here ao^ala the Saviour 

Isaiali propnesv of you nvpo- ^ , . . 

crites, as it is written: This speaks Oil thlS important 

people honour eth me with their nnp«;tinn of Pfitino' C'f^r 

lips, hut their heart is far from quefeUOn 01 eailUg. V_er- 

me. tainly nothino: can be 

7. And in vain do they wor- i • ^u x^T i 

ship me, teachina doctrines and plainer than these WOrcls 

precepts of men of ^he Savioiir, So it 

8. For leaving the command- , ^ . ^, 

ment of God, you hold the makes 110 diiierence 

tradition of men, the washings wh Pthpr T P^t mpqt nn 

of pots and of cups: and many wneinei i eai meai on 
other things you do like to Friday or not, SO Jesus- 

9.^ And he said to them: SajS. Now who shall I 
Well do yoQ make void the obev the Priest or Jesim*^' 
commandment of God, that ^^^^^} ^ ^^^ iriiesi oruesus. 
you may keep your own tradition. 

13. Making void the word of God by your own tradition, which 
you have given forth. And many other such like things you do. 

14. And calling again the multitude unto him He said to them:: 
Hear me all and understand. 

15. (There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, 
can defile him.) But the things which come from a man, those are 
they that defile a man. 

16. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 

17. And when he was come into the house from the multitude, hi& 
disciples asked him the parable. 

18. And he saith to them: So are you also without knowledge?* 
understand you not that everything from without, entering into a 
man, cannot defile him: 

19. Because it entereth not into his heart, butgoeth into the belly. 
and goeth out into the privy, purging all meats? 

r>5f^'^;^^i^^^-~T.?"'/^5 Well if he is not the 

God of Abraham, and the God r>, -, z. i i -it 

of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God 01 the dead, DUt the 

27. (He is not the God of the liTTino* wViof ic fhp noo r.f 

dead, but of the living.) You livmg, wnat IS tne lise 01 

therefore do greatly err. my father paying the 

Priest any more mone}^ to get my mother's soul out 
of Purgatory. She has been dead now twenty years. 
But I have not come to Purgator}^ in reading the 
Bible so far. I wonder how soon I will. Perhaps 
St. John 'says something about it, or St. Luke. I 
must hurry on, I am anxious to see what is said 
about Purgatory. 



12 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



Peter seems very much 
in earnest, and he is. But 
let us read a little further. 



St. }fark lUch—2d. But Peter 
saith to him: Although all 
shall be scandalized in thee, 
yet not I. 

30 And Jesus saith to him: 
Amen I say to thee, to-day even in this night, before the cock 
crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. 

31. But he spoke the more vehemently: Although I should die 
together with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner also 
said they all. 



69. And again a maid-ser- 
vant seeing him, began to say 
to the standers by: This is 
one of them. 

70. But he denied again. And 
after a while they that stood 
by said again to Peter: Surely 
thou art one of them; for 
thou art also a Galilean. 

71. But he began to curse 
and to swear, sailing, I know 
not this man of w'hom you 
speak. 

72. And immediately the 
cock crew again. And Peter 
remembered the word that 
Jesus had said unto him: 
Before the cock croAV twice, 
thou shalt thrice deny me. 
And he began to weep. 

pardon for all their sins. 

But I must read on, this Testament is very in- 
ter estiog , 



What, Peter! 3^ou on 
whom our church is built! 
to curse and to swear! 
and you infallible into 
the bargain! But poor 
Peter never claimed to be 
infallible; its only Peter's 
successors that claim this. 
Oh, how much better for 
Popes, Bishops, Priests 
and people to acknowl- 
edge they are sinners; 
come to Jesus and get 



St. Mark 16th ch.—15. And he 
said to them: Go ye into the 
whole world and preach the 
gospel to every creature. 

16. He that believeth and is 
l)aptized, shall be saved: but 
he that believeth not, shall be 
condemned. 

17. And these signs shall f ol- 
loAv them that believe : In my 
name they shall cast out dev- 
ils : they shall speak with new 
tongues, 

18. They shall take up ser- 
pents : and if they shall drink 
any deadly thing, it shall not 
hurt them: they shall lay 
their hands upon the sick and 



This finishes the gospel 
of St. Mark. And these 
words spoken here are 
the last Jesus spoke to 
his disciples: and what 
are the words: "Go ye 
unto the whole world and 
preach the gospel to every 
creature." Why did he 
not tell them to say mass, 
hear confession, shut 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



13 



themselves up in con- 
vents and monasteries. 
I wonder if St. Peter or 
any of the other disciples, 
ever said mass, or heard 
auricular confession, or 
forgave anybody their 
sins. St. Matthew is silent on the subject. So is 
St. Mark. But perhaps St. Luke, or St. John says 
says something about these important things. 



they shall recover. 

19. And the Lord Jesus, after 
he had spoken to them, was 
taken up into heaven, and sit- 
teth on the right hand of God. 

20. But they going forth 
preached everywhere: the 
Lord working withal, and 
confirming the word with 
signs that followed. 



4 •#• » 



^t. liU^E's €{0SpEl. 



St. Luke Wi ch.—^S. And Je- 
sus rising up out of the syna- 
gogue, went into Simon's 
house. And Simon's wife's 
mother was taken with a 
great fever, and they besought 
him for her. 



this respect? 



Here St. Luke as well 
as St. Matthew and St. 
Mark, speak of St. Peter's 
wife. Now why don't the 
Priests follow Peter in 



St. Luke 9th ch.—i9 And John 
answering, said: Master, we 
saw a certain man casting out 
devils in thy name, and we 
forbade him, because he fol- 
loweth not with us. 

50. And Jesus said to him: 
Fovhid him not: For he that 
is not against you, is for you. 



Here the Saviour teach- 
es John a lesson about 
sectarian bigotr}^ And 
would not these verses 
apply equally as well to 
us Catholics? because 
we believe all Protestants will be damned. But 
somehow I don't like to believe that, for I know 
plenty of good kind people who are Protestants, 
and a great many of them help poor Catholics. 



14 



THOUGHTS OP A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



And then to think they will be damned simply be- 
.cause the}^ don't belong to the Catholic church. I 
somehow can't believe it. 

Here Jesus gives his 
disciples power to heal the 
sick, tread on serpents, 
&c., but not power to for- 
give sins. He alone said, 
"thy sins be forgiven 
thee." 

you: but rejoice in this that your 



St. Luke 10th ch.—Vi. And the 
seventy-two returned with 
joy, saying: Lord, the devils 
also are subject to us in thy 
name. 

19. Behold,! have given you 
power to tread upon serpents, 
and scorpions, and upon all 
♦the power of the enemy, and 
nothing shall hurt you. 

20. But yet rejoice not in 
^his that spirits are subject unto 
names are written in heaven. 

St. Luke nth Ch.—9. And I* 
-say to you. Ask, and it shall 
:be' given you: seek, and you 
shall find:' knock, and it shall 
•be opened to you. 

10. For every one that ask- 
reth, receiveth: and he that 
seeketh, findeth: and to him 
;that knocketh, it shall be 
opened. 

11. And which of you if he 
-ask his father bread, will he 
give him a stone? or a fish, 
will he for a fish give him a 
serpent? 

12. Or if he shall ask an egg, 
-w^ill he reach him a scorpion? 

13. If you then being evil, 
know how to give good gifts 
to your children, how much 
more will your Father from 
.heaven give the good Spirit 
to them that ask him? 



In this tenth verse the 
Saviour says: "every one 
that asketh receiveth;" 
this includes Protestants 
as well as Catholics. And 
if Protestants go direct to 
the Father, as we read in 
the 13th verse, and are 
told to do : Why do I as 
a Catholic, go to the Vir- 
gin and the Saints and first 
ask them to intercede for 
me : Or even to the Priest. 
It looks like employing 

an agent to do what I should do myself. 

So the Saviour would 
teach those around him, 
on this occasion that it 
would be ^ore blessed for 
a person to hear the word 
of God, and keep it, than 
to be his Mother. Why does Jesus all the time, 



St. Luke nth ch.—'^ * A cer- 
tain woman from the crowd 
lifting up her voice said to 
him: Blessed is the womb 
-that bore thee, and the paps 
that gave thee suck. 

28. But he said: Yea rather, 
Messed are they who hear the 
word of God, and keep it. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



15 



whenever anyone mentions his Mother, try to get 
the minds of the people away from her, and fixed 
on God instead? This is certainly significant, and 
should be remembered by us Catholics. How often 
during lent do we say, ''Hail,, holy Queen, Mother 
of mercy; oar life, our hope, our sweetness, to thee 
do we cry, poor banished sons of Eve, &c." 



^t. Jo][|n's {^nspel. 



St. John 1st ch— 29. The next 
■day John saw Jesus coming 
to him and he saith: Behold 
the lamb of God, behold him 
who taketh away the sin of 
the world. 

it, but Jesus only. 

St. John 3d ch.—S. Jesus an- 
swered and said to him: 
Amen, amen I say to thee, un- 
less a man be born again, he 
cannot see the kingdom of 
God. 

chapter may explain. 

* * I say to thee, unless a 
man be born again of water 
and the Holy Ghost he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of 
God. 

6. That which is born of the 
flesh, is flesh: and that which 
is born of the spirit, is spirit. 

7. Wonder not, that I said to 
thee, you must be born again. 

8. The Spirit breatheth 
where he will; and thou hear- 
est his voice, but thou know- 
est not whence he cometh and 
whither he goeth; so is every 
one that is born of the Spirit. 



Not doing penance tak- 
eth away sin, but Jesus, 
the lamb of God. Well, 
then, the Priest can't do 

"Born again;" what 

does this mean? being 

born again ; perhaps some 

of the verses in this same 

Oh yes, here it is. 

Born of the spirit. This 
means what Protestants 
call conversion and regen- . 
eration. Let me see what 
the catechism says on 
this thing. Under the 
head of Baptism, I find 
it washes away original 
sin, remits all actual sin, 
infuses the habit of 



16 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

divine grace into the soul: In a word, regenerates. 
Well, how do I know it does all this, because I was 
an infant when baptized. It certainly looks as 
though baptismal regeneration and the ''habit of di- 
vine grace infused into the souF' worked the wrong 
wky in many of us Catholics. For if we read the 
daily papers correctly, we find that more than 
half the criminal cases in our Courts are Catholics, 
who had the habit of divine grace infused into 
their souls: But I must read on. 



Same ch.-U. And as Moses Qh what o'lorious WOrds 

lifted up the serpent m the , , ^ i i x 

desert so must the son of man these are, spokcu by JcSUS 

^f TMrwhosoeverbeiiev- J^imself:^ "whosoever be- 

eth in him, may not perish, lieveth in him may not 



but may have life everlasting. ,^^i,-;oK Knf moTr h^i^r^ ]\fa 
16. For God so loved the pCllSU, DUt may UaA C ilie 

world, as to give his only i3e- evcrlastius:. That word 

gotten Son; that whosoever ,, , ^,, 

beiieveth in him, mav not ^'whosoevcr" means every- 

Iveriastin^^ '^^•' ^""''^ ^'^^ "^^^^3^ whether they be- 
long to our church or not. 
It includes. Catholic, Jew, Protestant, Heathen and 
everyone. And do not Protestants believe on 
Christ? Of course they do. Well, then they will be 
saved, just as well as us Catholics. And is it not 
presumptuous for us to appropriate heaven to our- 
selves, and say all outside the Eoman Catholic 
church will be damned. Here the query comes 
again: Whom am I to believe? Jesus saj's '^who- 
soever believes will be saved." The Roman Catho- 
lic church says not. Well I think the word of 
Jesus Christ is above that of the church. And is 
it not when we believe on him, with our whole 
heart that divine grace is infused into the soul, 
and not in baptism when we were infants. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 17 

Same ch-zs. He that hath These are plain words 

received his testimony, hath ^ .... /. . i 

set to his seal that God is true. and a Continuation 01 the 
34. For he whom God hath oomp fhaiifpr Snrplv a 

sent, speaketh the words of same cnapier. ^ureu a 

God: for God doth not give child Can understand 

'"^^.'^The "^aTherioveth the them. He that believcth in 

Son: and he hath given aU the Son hath life evcrlast- 

thmgs into his hand. . ,^^ i ., . .i 

36. He that believeth in the mg; ("hath m the pres- 
Son, hath life everlasting: but pnf fp^qp orirl TinQ«;p«iCiivp 

he that believeth not the Son, eni lense, ana possessiie 
shau not see life, but the case, )which means "now," 

wrath of God abideth on him. xu* -i ^ ^.i. 

this side of the grave. 
Well, then, if we have life everlasting this side the 
grave, what is the use of us all passing through 
Purgatory? For no matter how good we are, after 
we die, "masses" have to be said for our souls in 
Purgatory. And if we can't pay the Priest, pre- 
cious few "masses" are said. 



SL John Wich.-2^. But the ^^i [j^ ceremonv or 

hour Cometh, and now is, -^ 

when the true adorers shall empty pomp or parade, 

adore the Father in spirit and i . • ^^\y\4. j,^^ 4^ truth 

in truth. For the Father also ^^^ 1^ spiril ana in iruiU. 
seeketh such to adore him. 

24. God is a spirit, and they that adore him must adore him in 
spirit and in truth. 

St. John 5th ch.—S9. Search That is iust what I am 

the scriptures, for vou think , . ,, , . ,? .i, 

in them to have life everlast- doing, "searching the 

Ihli give tl^sumon? oTral''''' scriptures. And would it 

40. And vou will not come to not be a good thing for 

me that you may have life. ^^ Catholics tO obey the 

Saviour in this respect and search the scriptures 
for themselves? We would then be obeying the 

Saviour and also Pope Pius VII. 

St. John 6th ch.-A7. Amen, Be he Jcw or Gentile, 

amen I say unto vou : He that \^ i £• 

believeth in me; hath ever- DOnd Or tree, 
lasting life. 



18 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

St. John 8th c/i.— 10. Then " TKui nnr i^hnrph r1$imn« 

Jesus lifting up himself, said „^^,^ ^^^ Ctiurcn aamns 

to her: Woman, where are all WHO leave the CQUrch, 

they that accused thee? Hath -i ii u ,i:flpp,. wifh 

no man condemned thee? ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ Uinei WltH 

11. Who said: No man, Lord. uS. Is this rio^ht? How 

And Jesus said: Neither will -i t/y. . .. 

I condemn thee. Go. and vastly different it waS 

now sin no more. ^y^th JeSUS. 

St Johnuthch.-^b. Thomas jesus uses the defiuite 

saith to him: Lord, we know ^. , ^^^, -,•, ^ -, 

not whither thou goest; and article "the. i am the 

how can we know the way? ^«,. ^^^a fj.^ frnth qtiH 

6. Jesus saith to him: I am wa>, ailQ me tlUlll, ana 

the way, and the truth, and the life. So there is no 

the life. No man cometh to . i i. i. i a 

the Father, but by me. Other Way to heaven but 

by Hiin it seems; going to Purgator}^ won't do. 
The Priest can't save us. The church can't save 
us. Nothing can save us but Jesus. The sacra- 
ments won't do it. Had Jesus said, I am a way 
and a truth, (fee, then we would be justified in be- 
lieving that there were other ways beside Christ. 
But, no; the Saviour settles the thing for time 
and eternity, that he is the onl}' way. Then if 
these words be true, what use in me doing penance, 
or torturing my bod}^? For in doing such things I 
am robbing Jesus of his glory. As much as to say : 
"Jesus, your sacrifice on Calvary's Cross was not 
sufficient, therefore I must suffer and do penance 
for my sin. 1 must go to Purgatory and finish the 
atonement." Certainl}^ this is not consistent with 
his complete sacrifice. 

St. John 15th ch.—l. If you a ^b- Trrhat T will anri it 

abide in me, and my words ^^^ wuat 1 wm ana 1\ 

abide in you, you shall ask shall be doUC. Well, if I 

whatever you will, and it s/ia/i i ^^„ ^u^ ,^^„,i^., ^v .^^^ 

be done unto you. ask for the pardou of my 

sins, without going to confession, will that be done? 
I will read this verse again. "You shall ask what- 
ever 3?ou will and it shall be done." Then I ask 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 19 

blessed Jesus that all mj^ sins be pardoned, direct- 
ly by himself without going to the Priest to confess. 

St. John 16th ch.—23. And in This is the Same as in 

that day you shall not ask me . , . . ohai^tpr 

anything. (Amen, amen I say tuc i<i»t i^iiaptci. 

to you; if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it 

you. 

24. Hitherto you have not asked anything in my name. (Ask and 
yoii shall receive; that your joy may be full.) 

St John mhch.--22 \Yhen Here Jesus gives his 

he had said this ; he breath- t . i P ^ • 

ed on them; and he said to dlSCipleS power tO lOrglve 

gS- ^^^^''^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ sins. Protestants as well 

23. Whose sins you shall for- as Catholics admit this ; 

lL^d^wtYeY^?.fyrihanTe: but after reading the tes- 

tain, they are retained. tament carefully, both 

Protestant and Catholic, (or Douay), I cannot 
find one place where anj^ of the disciples ever for- 
gave a man or woman their sins; not once. 

St. Luke 9th ch.-i Then c&ii- Here he gives them 

mg together the twelve i i i . i 

apostles, he gave them power power tO heal the SICK 

Hi tooure"iis°;"ses^" *''"'^' also, and I find on many 

2. And he sent them to OCCasious durino' the re- 
preach the kingdom of God, . ^ j? j.\^ i' ^ 

and to heal the sick. mainder of the lives of 

the apostles, that they did heal the sick, and 
raise the dead to life, but never forgave sins, not 
even once. Now then, if we are to believe in 
apostolic succession, and that the Priest has pow- 
er to forgive sins, he has also power to heal the 
sick, and raise the dead to life. And if he can do 
the one, he can do all the others. But why does 
he do what the apostles never did — forgive sins. 



20 



THOUGHTS Ot" A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



J^cts o^ tl^E Jtpcstles. 



Acts uth ch.-i2. Neither is These are the words of 

there salvation m anv other. o ^ -r» . i • i 

For there is no other name bt. reter, whlch Seem tO 

under heaven given to men pnmi->1ptplv rlPTnnliQh nnr 

whereby we must be saved. COmpieiei} aemoiisn OUr 

prayers to the saints. Peter is very much in ear- 
nest, when he says, "There is no other name under 
heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved. '^ 
It was Jesus St. Peter was talking about, and not 
the Virgin or any of the saints. 



Pope Pius IX did not 
possess much of the spirit 
of St. Stephen, that is 
spoken of in these verses, 
when he cursed "Victor 
Emanuel and General 
Garibaldi, yet they did 
not want to take his life, only deprive him of his 
temporal power; yet Pius IX was infallible! But 
I'll be dammed if I don't believe him to be infalli- 
ble. Not by God, though, that is one consola- 
tion; but only by the Pope. "Curses, like chick- 
ens, come home to their roost." 



Acts 7th ch.—5S. And they 
stoned Stephen, invoking and 
saying: Lord Jesus, receive 
my spirit. 

59. And faUing on his knees, 
he cried with a loud voice, 
saying; Lord, lay not this 
sin to their charge. And 
when he had said this, he fell 
asleep in the Lord. And Saul 
was consenting to his death. 



Acts 10th ch,— 25. And it came 
to pass, that when Peter was 
come in, Cornelius came to 
meet him, and falling at his 
feet adored. 

26. But Peter lifted him up, 
saying: Arise, I myself also 
am a man. 



When I studied my 
catechism, this question 
was asked me: "Who is 
the Poper" and the fol- 
lowino^ was the an- 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



21 



swer. ''He is successor of St. Peter and Vicar 
of Jesus Christ on earth." Now why does the 
Pope make people approach him on their knees 
and allow them to kiss his feet? If St. Peter were 
Pope at Rome to-day, would he permit this? Would 
he not say as he did on this occasion : Arise, I 
myself also am a man." Has hot pride crept in, 
even into the Vatican since the days of Peter? 



Acts lUfh ch.—l. And there 
sat a certain man at Lystra 
impotent in his feet, a cripple 
from his mother's womb, who 
never had walked. 

8. This same heard Paul 
speaking. Who looking upon 
him. and seeing that he had 
faith to be healed, 

9. Said with a loud voice: 
Stand upright on thy feet. 
And he leaped up and walk- 
ed. 

10. And v/hen the multi- 
tudes had seen what Paul had 
done, they lifted up their 
voice in the Lycaonian tongue 
saying: The gods are come 
down to us in the likeness of 
men. 

11. And they called Barna- 
bas, Jupiter: but Paul, Mer- 
cury: because he was chief 
speaker. 

12. The priest also of Jupiter 
that was before the city, 
bringing oxen and garlands 
before the gate, would have 
otfered sacrifice with the peo- 
ple. 

13. Which when the apostles 
Barnabas and Paul had heard, 
rending their clothes, they 
leaped out among the people 
crying. 

14. And saying: Ye men, 
why do ye these things? We 
also are mortals, men like unto you, preaching to you to be con- 
verted from these vain things, to the living God who made the 
heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them: 

17. And speaking these things, they scarce restrained the people 
from sacrificing to them. 



Here again Paul and 
Barnabas condemn the 
very thing that Pe- 
ter did, viz: ''Saint Wor- 
ship." They seem to get 
very angrj^ as we read in 
the 13th and 14th verses. 
Now if they would not 
permit these people to 
worship them, would they 
not equall}^ reprove us 
Catholics to-day, that is, 
if Peter, Paul and Barna- 
bas could come on earth? 
These verses are veiy em- 
phatic. Like praying to 
the Virgin, how can Pe- 
ter, Paul and the rest of 
the Saints, hear one man 
who prays in Ireland, an- 
other in Rome, another in 
America, and all at the 
same time? 



22 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

Acts 17th ch.-io. But the p^ul speaks very high- 

Drethren immediatelv sent , ^ ^ i t» ^ 

away Paul and Silas by night Ij 01 these JBereans. Be- 
untoBerea. Who when they p^nop fhpv npnrnhpfJ fhp 

were come thither went into causetney searcnea me 
the synagogue of the Jews. scriptures daily, to prove 

11. Now these were more no- t^x, > ^ / j. -u 

bie than those in Thessaioni- oy the scriptures, (not by 

ca who received the word traditioD, Or by the 
with all eagerness, dailv t-, ^ , < i . i . i 

searching the scriptures, leathers,) whether the 

whether these things were so. preaching of Paul and Si- 
las was sanctioned by scriptures or not. This is 
the very thing I am now doing, searching the 
scriptures. And what the Apostle Paul commands, 
why does our church condemn? Would not we 
Catholics be more benefited by reading the Bible, 
and studying God's pure word, than spending our 
Sabbath afternoons drinking whisky and playing 
cards? God grant that the day may not be 
far distant, when every Roman Catholic family 
will have a Bible, and read it daily as did these 
Bereans; and every doubtful doctrine taught in 
the church, test it by scripture. We will have the 
approval of heaven in doing so as did those people, 
the approval of St. Paul. 
Acts 18th ch.--27. And where- Shewing by the scrip- 

as he was desirous to go to i ^ t • i 

Achaia, the brethren exhort- tures that Jcsus IS the 

ing wrote to the disciples to rhri^t- not hv trnrlitinTi 

receive him. Who, when he ^nilSt,not Oy traaition 

was come, helped them much or anvthino^ else, but by 

who had believed. .i • x x- ^v 

28. For with much vigor he the SCriptures. i\0W, then, 

convinced the Jews openly, to everything that I read 

shewing by the scriptures, . ^ . ^i . i -, 

that Jesus is the Christ. in my catechlsm, would 

it not be well to apply the same test — the scrip- 
tures — and see whether it is scriptural or not. 

^c^8;^is^c/i.~8. And the next Thi« Pripftf nr pv^tjo-pI- 

day departing we came to . ^^^^ -fliest Or eiangei- 

Cesarea. And entering into ist was married it SCems 
the house of Philip the evan- i u i ^ r rl p n o-h f PrQ 

gelist, who was one of the ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ aaugnters. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



23 



seven, we abode with him. 

9. And he had four daugh- 
ters, virgins, who did prophe- 
sy. 



Would it be a sin in our 
Priests to have their 
wives and daughters also? 



First Epistle of St. Paul to the Eomans. 
Bomans5thch.-i Being ]us- Xot throuo'h the vir^n 

tified therefore bv faith let us n ^ ^ 

have peace with God through 31arv Or anv 01 the saiuts, 
our Lord Jesus Christ. ^^^^ through JesUS Christ. 

Then we can't have peace with God by praying 
through any saint or angel or any other being, 
but through Jesus Christ. Then why do I read so 
many prayers in vciy prayer book such as, 

Ark of the Covenant, 

Gate of Heaven, 

Morning Star, 

Queen of Angels, )> Pray for us. 

Queen of Saints, 

St. Peter, 
■ St. Paul, 

"Hail, Hcly Queen, mother of merc}^, our life, our 
hope, our sweetness, to thee do we cry poor ban- 
ished sons of Eve. To thee do we send up sighs, 
mourning and weeping, &c." Why all this? where 
is the scriptural warrant for such prayers? 

Here St. Paul makes no 
distinction between one 
class more than another, 
and concludes by saying, 
"whosoever shall call upon 
the name of the Lord, 
shall be saved." That in- 



RoraanslOth ch.—S. But what 
saith the scripture? The word 
is nigh thee, even in thi/ mouth, 
and in thy heart. This is the 
word of faith which we 
preach. 

9. For if thou confess with 
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and believe in thy heart that 
God hath raised him up from 
tlie dead, thou shalt be saved. 



24 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



10. For, with the heart, we 
believe unto justice; but, with 
the mouth, confession is made 
unto salvation. 

11. For the scripture saith: 
JVhosoever belie veth in him, 
shall not be confounded. 

12. For there is no distinc- 
tion of the Jew and the Greek : 
for the same is Lord over all, 
rich unto all that call upon 
him. 

13. For whosoever shall call 
upon the name of the Lord, 
shall be saved. 

sending all to perdition 

Romans Uth ch.—2. For one 
believeth that he may eat all 
things: but he that is weak 
let him eat herbs. 

3. Let not him, that eateth, 
despise him that eateth not: 
and he. that eateth not, let 
him not judge him that eat- 
eth. For God hath taken him 
to him. 

17. For the kingdom of God 
is not meat and drink; but 
justice, and peace, and joy in 
the Holy Ghost. 



eludes Protestants. Then 
wh}^ am I taught to be- 
lieve they are damned? 
Simply because they don't 
belong to my church? 
Their lives are certainly 
as pure and good as- 
Catholics. Has not our 
church made a mistake in 

who are not of our church. 

There were disputes 
then it seems, as there 
are to-da^^ Catholics 
believe in fasting; Pro- 
testants do not. How 
does Paul settle this dif- 
ficulty. In the 17th verse 
he tells us, that the king- 



dom of God is not meat 
or drink, but justice and peace and jo}^ in the Ho- 
ly Ghost. So that whether we eat or fast, it has 
nothino^ to do with our salvation. 



First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 



1 Cor sth ch.-s. But meat Here again St. Paul 

doth not commend us to God. .^ ^ ^^ ,^ . .i . 

For neither, if we eat, shall writes tO the Coruithians, 

S nX ZVwe"hTve"thI t^^ Same as he did to the 
less. Romans. And his words 

are plain enough for a child to understand. Why so 
many fast da^^s in our church. Who invented 
them? We don't find it in the Bible. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMA^ CATHOLIC. 25 

1 Cor, 9th ch.-i6. For if I ^i^y ^[^ n^t Paul sav, 

preach the gospel: it is no . -^ -^ ' 

glorj' to me: for a necessity WO IS UUtO me II 1 Say HOt 
lieth upon me: for wo is unto i'rnfiQQ " incsfpnri of csav 
me if I preach not the gospel. uiass, iiifeieaa Ui say- 
ing, ''wo is unto me if I preach not the gospel." 
Would it not be a good thing for some of our 
Priests to feel as Paul did on this important sub- 
ject? Give us more preaching and less ''mass." 



Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. 



r^c!^- Pi"^-^^}^ ^I'^':Z^^^ ^^ How often I find the 

Christ died for all; that thev . , . , , 

also who live, may not now same idea lu every book 

live to themselves, but unto j Uot-p rporl en fi\v ^f 
himwho died for them and ^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^' ^^' 

rose again. Matthew, St. Mark, St. 

Luke, St. John, spake of it: "Whosoever believ- 
eth shall be saved," and "Christ died for all." 
"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden and I will give you rest, &c.," and many oth- 
er passages of similar meaning. Then these verses 
of scripture, knock the props from under us Catho- 
lics in appropriating heaven to ourselves onl}^ 
How ridiculous this seems. I do really think 
when I get to heaven, I will see many Protestants 
there. I have found no scripture so far, sustaining 
the idea that everybod}^ will be damned but Catho- 
lics. What a heaven it will be! when the fourth 
and sixth wards of New York is poured into it; also 
first ward of Erie, Pa., Mar3^bone, of Liverpool, Eng- 
land; and a certain section of Chicago, 111., called 
the "stock yards." I do think many Protestants 
would prefer to be excused from going to such a 
heaven. 



26 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. 



Gal. 2d ch.-ll. But when Ce- 
phas was come to Antioch, I 
withstood him to the face, be- 
cause he was to be blamed. 

12. For before that some 
came from James, he did eat 
with the Gentiles : but when 
they were come, he withdrew 
and separated himself, fear- 
ing them who were of the cir- 
cumcision. 

13. And to this dissimulation 
the rest of the Jews consent- 
ed, so that Barnabas also was 
led by them into that dissimu- 
lation. 

14. But when I saw that they 
walked not uprightly unto 
the truth of the gospel, I said 
to Cephas before them all. If 
thou, being a Jew, livest after 
the manner of the gentiles, 
and not as the Jews do, how 
dost thou compel the Gentiles 

to live as do the Jews. gt. Paul believed Peter to 

be infallible, why did he rebuke him? But Peter 
or Paul never claimed to be infallible. St. Peter 
being the first Pope and not infallible, how comes 
it that the Popes were infallible who succeeded 
him? But some Catholic Bishops say he is only 
infallible in matters of faith and doctrine. Well 
its in this very thing that Peter made a mistake, 
for which Paul hauls him over the coals. 



This is St. Paul who is 
rebuking Cephas, (or Pe- 
ter) (Cephas and Peter 
are the same.) Now if 
Peter was chief of the 
Apostles, as our church 
claims he was, why did 
he permit Paul to rebuke 
him. Has not the Ro- 
man Catholic church 
made a mistake by plac- 
ing poor, weak Peter at 
its head? Now then, if 
the Pope is infallible, Pe- 
ter was infallible also. If 



Gal. Itth ch. — 10. You observe 
days, and months, and times, 
and years. 

11. I am afraid of you lest 
perhaps I have laboured in 
vain among you. 

have. 



Surely our church ob- 
serves days, more than 
any other church. See 
how many saint days we 
St. Paul seems to condemn this. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 27 



Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians. 



Eph.Mch.-s For hygmee Well, if we are saved 

yon are saved through faith, . ^, ' ^- i n .^^ if 

and that not of yourselves, for by "grace through faith" 

it is the gift of God; «"^ ''not of nnrQp1vp«^ '^ 

9. Not of works that no man ^"^ ^^^ ^^ ^"^ ^^^^ ^^' 

may glory. what is the iise of me 

doing penance, or going to confession, or even 
mass? Why didn't St. Paul mention penance, 
mass, confession and so on? When we Catholics do 
those things, are we not trying to save ourselves? 
Thus making the sacrifice of Christ of none effect; 
really ignoring the above words of St. Paul. 



o>^o 



Epistle of St. Paul to the Oolossians. 



coj sd c^ -9. Lie not one to xhe last clause of the 

another: stripping vourselves , ^ ^ . . 

of the old man with his deeds. last versC doCS away With 

i.^^'^'i^^'^i the idea that Eoman 

knowledge, according to the Catholics will have heav- 
image of him that created i • i i. xi. 

him en exclusively to them- 

11. Where there is neither selves. 
Qentile nOr Jew, circumci- 
sion nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. 
But Christ is all. and in all 

Col. 3d ch -27 I charge you How often is it read in 

by the Lord that this epistle ^^ .^ .i t i i 

be read to aU the holy breth- Eoman Catholic church- 

^^^- es? Scarcely ever ! "Well, 

hardly ever." 



28 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. 

^o 

2d Thess. u C/1.-3 Let no xhis is what many 

man deceive you by any ^r^ , , n . 

means: for unless there come Frotestants Say refers tO 

a revolt first, and the man 4.^ ^i T>c,^f^ Thp Vrc\ 

of sin be revealed, the son ^^ ^^^ .rope. J. lie rio 

of perdition, testaats say that the Pope 

4. Who opposeth, andislift- -^ • -r> j • i 

ed up above all that is called Slts in Kome and IS al- 

God or that i^s worshiped, so niost worshiped by pil- 

that he sitteth in the temple , t n V; 

of God, shewing himself as if grims and all Koman 
^I'who^e'^omingis accord- Catholics, that he claims 

ingtothe working of satan, tO he infallible, SUCCeSSOr 

lying rnTrs""" ''*'''' ''°'' of St. Peter: Vicar of 
Jesus Christ on earth, &c. Certainly we Catho- 
lics can't but admit that no other ever claimed 
such powers as the Pope. The lying wonders re- 
ferred to in the 9th verse, Protestants sa}^ are the 
relics, and the miracles the relics have performed, 
that is referred to in this verse. Well, what are 
those relics? In looking over an old Roman Catho- 
ilc publication I find the following: 

"Pieces of the true Cross." 

"Teeth of St. Peter." 

"Some of the Blessed Virgin's milk." 

"Hairs out of the tail of Balaam's ass, (fee." 

Of course Protestants laugh at all this. In con- 
versation with some intelligent Catholics a short 
time ago, we were talking about those relics. The 
general conclusion arrived at were, that we wish- 
ed such things would be banished from churches 
altogether ; for we had our doubts as to the genu- 
ineness of such things. I see by to-daj^'s daily pa- 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 29 

pers that Pope Leo has forbidden the sale of relics 
at the Vaticaa, stating, as a reason, such sales 
have been abused by the monks and others. 



o>^.o 



Pirst Epistle of St, Paul to Timothy. 



> Pray for us. 



^ 1st Tim. 2d ch.-5. For there xhis destroys the medi- 

is one God, and one media- ^. _ ^- V» • ^ i 

tor of God and men, the man atlOn 01 the Priest, also 

Christ Jesus: the pra^^ers found in our 

prayer-books, "Key of HeaTen" and "Garden of 
the Soul" — 

St. Peter, 

St. John, 

St. Thomas, 

St. Michael, 

Ark of the Covenant, 

Gate of Heaven, 

Morning Star, 

Queen of Angels, 

Queen of Saints, &c., 

Now, if Christ is the only mediator between God 
and us, why not go direct to him, instead of em- 
ploying an agent, (the Priest.) Are not Protes- 
tants right in this respect, and Catholics wrong? 
Protestants believe in one mediator, and that is 
Jesus Christ. We believe in as many mediators 
as there are canonized saints. 

istTim 3d ch.-i. A faithful What! a Bishop have 

saymg. If a man desire the .„ ^ ,.11 • -».x 

office of a bishop, he desireth a Wife and children I JSOW 

^ f if hehoveth therefore a ^^ ^he apostle recommends 



30 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



T>ishop to be blameless, the 
husband of one wife, sober, 
prudent, of good behaviour, 
chaste, given to hospitality, a 
teacher, 

3. Not given to wjne, no 
striker, but modest, not quar- 
relsome, not covetous, but 

4. One that ruleth well his 
own house, having his chil- 
dren in subjection with all 
chastity. 

5. But if a man know not 
how to rule his own house, how 
of God? 

1st Tim. Uth ch.~l. Now the 
Spirit manifestly saith, that 
in the last times some shall 
depart from the faith, giving 
heed to spirits of error, and 
doctrines of devils, 

2. Speaking lies in hypocri- 
sy, and having their con- 
science seared. 

3. Forbidding to marry, to 
abstain, from meats, which 
God hath ordained to be re- 
ceived with thanksgiving by 
the faithful, and by them that 
have known the triith. 

4. For every creature of God 
is good, and nothing to be re- 
jected that is received with 
thanksgiving 



a Bishop to have a wife, 
why does our church for- 
bid what St. Paul recom- 
mends? Are not Protes- 
tants right and we wrong 
in this thing also? Their 
Bishops have wives, ours 
have none. 

shall he take care of the church 

This describes the Ro- 
man Catholic church; 
for are not Priests for- 
bidden to marry? Are 
we not forbidden to eat 
meat on Fridays? Now 
if this sciipture were tak- 
en from a Protestant Bi- 
ble, instead of a Catholic 
(Douay,) we might have 
some doubts; but here it 



is, in black and white in 
the Douay. The query now is; who shall we be- 
lieve, the Apostles or the Priests ; the command- 
ments of God, or the commandments of the church? 



o>^o 



Epistle of St. Paul to Titus. 



Titus 1st ch.^4.. To Titus my 
beloved son, according to thie 
common faith, grace, and 
peace from God the Father, 
and from Christ Jesus our Sa- 
viour. 



Here St. Paul tells Ti- 
tus, that before he ordains 
a Priest that the candidate 
for ordination must be 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



31 



5. For this cause I left thee 
in Crete, that thou shouldst 
set in order the things that 
are wanting, and shouldst or- 
dain priests in every city, as I 
also appointed thee: 

6. If any be without crime, 
the husband of one wife, hav- 
ing faithful children, not ac- 
cused of riot, or unruly 



a married man. But our 
church ignores St. Paul's 
instruction. If the 
church ignores St. Paul's 
commands, why does it 
ask us to pray to him 

now? Is not this inconsistency of the worst kind? 

Either St. Paul is wrong or the Roman Catholic 

church is wrono^. 



-^>o>y<o 



St. Paul to the Hebrews. 



-o^- 



Heb. 10th ch.—9. Then said I, 
Behold I come to do thy will, 
God: he taketh away the first, 
that he may establish that 
which foUoweth. 

10. In the which will, we 
are sanctified by the oblation 
of the body of' Jesus Christ 
once. 

11. And every priest indeed 
standeth daily ministering, 
and often offering the same 
sacrifices, which can never 
take away sins: 

12. But this man offering 
one sacrifice for sins, for ever 
sitteth on the right hand of 
God. 

13. From henceforth ex- 
pecting, until his enemies be 
made his footstool. 

14. For by one oblation he 
hath perfected for ever them 
that are sanctified. 

15. And the Holy Ghost also doth testify this to us. For after 
that he said: 

16. And this is the testament which I will make unto them after those 
days, saith the Lord. I will give my laws in their hearts, and on their 
minds will I write them: 

17. And their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. 

18. Now where there is a remission of these, there is no more an 
oblation for sin. 



The 11th verse con- 
demns the sacrifice of the 
mass, or course this has 
reference to the Jewish 
custom of sacrifices; but 
the teaching is, that Jesus 
was offered on Calvarj^ 
and can never be offered 
again. Then it is all 
foolishness to pay the 
Priest mone}^ to say mass 
for supposed souls in Pur- 
gatory, for in the mass 
Christ is offered asfain. 



32 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

Heb. mh C/1.--4. Marriage That little word "all" 

honourable in all, and the . , i -i-k . . -•.t 

bed undefiled. For fornicators mcludes PriestS, NUDS 

j^udge.^'"'^''"^'^"' ^""^ ^^'^^ and Sisters of Charity, &c. 

St. James. 



James 1st ch -27 Religion Dq ^ot ProtestantS do 

clean and undefiled before ,, . „ j-i ,^ ^^ c 

God and the Father, is this, thlS as weil aS OathollCS.'' 

to visit the fatherless and Ypc-andmnrp How offpn 

widows in their tribulation: J^ eb , dUU more, now Olten 

and to keep one's self unspot- has it happened that poor 
ted from this world. Catholics have applied to 

the Priest for help, and the Priest takes the horse- 
whip to them. They then apply to a Protestant 
and their wants are relieved. This has happened 
many times to my. own knowledge. Now which 
has got the purest and most acceptable religion to 
God? According to the above scripture the Pro- 
testant has. 
St James 5th ch.-i6. Con- ^^sThv didn't St. James 

f ess therefore your sins one . n .i: . i> j. 

to another; and prav ©ne for tClJ tnem tO COnieSS tO 

tavJd.^"' *^^^ ^'''' ""^'^ ^^ ^i^ ^^ *^ ^^^^^^ Pa^l ^^ 

any of the other Apostles. 

1st Peter. 



^ 1st Peter, 1st ch.-is. Know- This opposcs the prac- 

mg that you were not redeem- ,. n - .i -rT • .l 

ed with corruptible things as tice 01 paying the Priest 

gold or silver, from your vain moripv tn%flv ma^^p^ for 

conversation of the tradition money tO sa} masses lOr 

of your fathers. souls in Purgatory; for 

biooAf cC\ '^^oFri^b then those souls would be 

unspotted and undefiled. redeemed with silver or 
gold. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



33 



1st John. 



1st John 1st cli.—l. My little 
children, these things I write 
to you that you may not sin. 
But if any man sin, we have 
an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the just: 

2. And he is the propitia- 
tion for our sins : and not for 
ours only, but also for those 
of the whole world. 

22. And whatsoever we shall 
ask we shall receive of him : 
because we keep his com- 
mandments, and do those things 

1st John 3d ch.—lo. Whoso- 
ever shall confess that Jesus 
is the Son of God, God abi- 
deth in him and he in God. 



''We have an advocate 
with the Father, Jesus 
Christ." How much bet- 
ter to go direct to Him 
instead of first going to 
the Priest, or any of the 
Saints? Wh}^ so much 
red tape? 

which are pleasing in his sight. 

Do not Protestants do 
this as well as Catholics? 
Then why say Protestants 
will be damned, and Catholics saved? 



The Apocalypse of St. John. 



Eev. Sd ch.— 20. Behold, I 
stand at the gate and knock. 
If any man shaU hear my 
voice, and open to me the 
door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and he with me 



Eev. 18th ch.—9. And he 
said to me: Write: Blessed 
are they that are called to the 
marriage supper of the Lamb. 
And he saith to me: These 
words of God are true. 

10. And I fell down before 
his feet, to adore him. And 
he saith to me: See thou do 
it not: I am thy fellow-ser- 
vant, and of thy brethren who 
have the testimony of Jesus. 
Adore God. For tlie testimo- 
ny of Jesus is the spirit of 
prophecy. 



Yes, be he Protestant 
or Catholic, bond or free, 
black or white. 



Here St. John is for- 
bidden to worship this 
angel and commanded to 
worship God. Why did 
he not tell him to worship 
the Blessed Virgin or 
some of the saints, as the 
church commands us to 
do to-da}^? 



34 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 



Bev. 22d ck.—S. And I John 
Avho have heard, and seen 
these things. And after I had 
heard and seen, I fell down 
to adore before the feet of the 
Angel, who shewed me these 
things. 

9. And he said to me: see 
thou do it not: fori am thy 
fellow-servant, and of thy 
brethren the prophets, and of 
them that keep the words of 
the prophecy of this book. 
Adore God, 

in heaven? 



Here again St. John 
tries to worship the angel, 
and is again forbidden 
and commanded to wor- 
ship God. This is the 
last chapter in the Bible. 
Then why, O why, does 
the Priest tell me to do 
that which is condemned 



Bev. 22d ch.—Vl. And the 
spirit and the bride say: 
Come. And he that heareth, 
let him say: Come. And he 
that thirsteth, let him come: 
and he that will, let him take 
the water of life, freely. 



This is almost the last 
verse in the bible. Ev- 
eryone is enjoined to 
come and take of the wat- 
er of life freely. 



This finishes the reading of the Douay Bible, 
and oh, how much I find in it that condemns the 
teaching of the Roman Catholic church. I cannot 
but come to this conclusion: That either Christ 
and his Apostles were wrong, or the Roman Catho- 
lic church is wrong. 



In conclusion I have failed to find purgatory, 
is not even mentioned. 



It 



The last time the author went to confession, he 
put the following questions to the priest, who got 
angT}^, but failed to answer them from a scriptural 
standpoint: 

1. Point out in the Bible where I can find the 
word purgatory? 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 35 

2. Show me where any of the Apostles ever for- 
gave a person their sins? 

3. Tell me where and when an^^ of the Apostles 
ever heard auricular confession, as you are now 
doing? 

4. Where is your warrant for holy water ? 

5. Where are we told to worship Saints, Angels, 
or even the blessed Virgin ? Is it not condemned 
by St. Peter, St. Paul, and other of the Apostles ? 
And Christ himself condemns it. 

6. You say you have power to change a wafer 
made of flour and water into the real body, blood, 
soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Now then, 

suppose after changing it thus, we go to Mr. 's 

drug store; he is a Roman Catholic, and a thor- 
ough chemist. We will have him analyze it, and 
see whether any flesh composes a part of it ; much 
less a whole. 

7. Or, suppose you allow me to mix arsenic in 
the wafer, then change it into the body of Christ 
and eat it yourself. 

One thousand dollars will be given to any priest 
who will do this. We are taught in the bible that 
God made man, but not that man made God. 

8. You say j^ou have power to forgive sins, and 
that it comes down by apostolic succession, and 
that Christ gave his disciples power to forgive sins, 
heal the sick, raise the dead to life, etc. Prove to 
me or an3'body else, that 3^ou can heal the sick, 
raise the dead to life, and I will believe you can 
pardon my sins. If you have power to do the one, 
you have power to do the other also. 



36 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

Go, said he (the Priest) and say the litany of 
the blessed Virgin, night and morning, until next 
Saturday evening, then come to me and confess 
again. 

No sir, I will not say the litan3^; nor will I come 
to you any more; but, henceforth, I go to Jesus 
Christ direct, which promise I have kept now ten 
years, and intend to do so the remainder of my life. 

Man}^ Roman Catholics think and believe that 
every doctrine and sacrament taught in the church 
were established b}^ Christ and his Apostles, but 
such is not the case. Man}^ of the most important 
doctrines were not even thought of for centuries 
after the death of all the Apostles. 

The following are some of the most prominent 
and dates of their introduction into the churches: 

IMAGES. 

The exposure of images and paintings was in- 
troduced in the churches in the 4th century. 

CONFESSION. 

Auricular confession to priests was established by 
Pope Leo I, surnamed the Great, about the mid- 
dle of the 5th century. 

PURGATORY. 

The doctrine of purgatory is not mentioned, nor 
does it appear to have been thought of (as after- 
ward held) during the first four centuries. It be- 
gan to obtain belief in the fifth and sixth ages, and 
was established in the church by Pope Gregory 
I, about the end of the latter century. 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 37 

KEYS OF ST. PETER AND THE SUPREMACY OF THE 
ROMAN SEE. 

The same Pope concentrated with the Bishopric 
of Rome the claim to the power of the keys of St. 
Peter and (though with some appearance of cau- 
tion) evidently aimed at establishing the suprem- 
acy of the Roman See, though both these arro- 
gant assumptions were stoutly and permanently 
resisted by the Patriarchs of Constantinople on 
behalf of the Eastern and Greek church. 

THE MASS. 

Gregory also introduced the Mass, regulated the 
prayers, &c. 

THE BIBLE. 

The Holy scriptures were withdrawn from the 
jjeople about the 7th century, and kept so until the 
reformation in the 16th centur3\ 

We now in conclusion compare the conversion of 
one whom our church recognizes as the greatest 
and most illustrious saint since the days of the 
apostles. 

ST. AGUSTINE. 

We give it in his own language, and ask the 
reader to compare it with the conversion and re- 
generation as taught in our church to-day. 

"I was sitting with my friend (Ambrose); my 
whole soul was shaken with the violence of the in 
ward conflict — the conflict of breaking away from 
my evil habits and associates, to a life which seem- 
ed to me poor and profitless. Silently we sat to- 
gether, when deep reflection had brought to my 



38 THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

mind all m}^ sin and miser}^ there arose a mighty 
storm of grief, bringing a 'mighty shower of tears.' 
I left my friend that I might weep in solitude. I 
threw myself down under a fig-tree in the garden, 
(the spot is still pointed out in Milan) and I cried 
in the bitterness of my spirit, 'How long — how 
long ? To-morrow, to-morrow ? Why not now — 
wh}^ not now, and here get pardon of my sins.' So 
was I speaking and weeping in contrition of m}^ 
heart, when, lo! I heard from a neighboring house 
a voice as of a child, chanting and oft repeating, 
'Take up and read, take up and read!' Instantly 
my countenance altered. So checking my tears, I 
rose, taking it to be a command of God to open the 
Book and read the first chapter I should find. I 
opened and read part of St. Paul's Epistle to the 
Romans. 'Not in rioting and drunkenness; not in 
chambering and wantonness; not in strife and env}^- 
ing; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make 
not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lust thereof.' 
No further could I read, nor needed I, for instant- 
ty, at the end of this sentence, by a serene light 
infused into m}^ soul, all the darkness, sin and doubt 
vanished away." 

We know how he was baptized by the great Am- 
brose, and how they sang together asthej^ came up 
out of the baptismal waters, the hymn, Te Deum 
Laudamus. 

But, Oh: how this has changed since the days 
of St. Agustine. As the following is the process 
in our church to-day, done in baptism and by 
the following method, as ever}" Catholic knows: 

"There must be god-fathers and god-mothers; 
the Priest blows in the face of the subject of bap- 
tism thrice, to drive satan out of him ; then blessed 



THOUGHTS OF A ROMAN CATHOLIC. 39 

salt is put in his mouth ; then exorcism is performed 
to drive the devil out of him; then when the devil 
is scared away, the child is introduced into the 
church, where prayers are said, then the Priest puts 
his spittle on his ears and nose; then he is anointed 
with Holy oil, blessed on Maunday Thursday, and 
then he is baptized; then he is anointed at the top 
of the head with holy chrism ; then a white linen 
cloth is placed on his head; then a lighted candle 
is put in his hand; then the ceremony is ended, the 
plate passed around for the contributions of the 
godfathers, the person is dismissed, his sins all 
washed away, the habits of grace infused into his 
soul ! Re-generated ! ! 

Oh, Rome, thou inconsistenc3^ The nearer to 
thee, the farther from God. 



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